Here’s a great video chronicling one family’s potty training adventures.
Do you have an adorable video of your kid in the process of potty training? Share it on our Facebook page!
Like the chart they use? Be sure to check our version as a free download on the Resources page!
Here’s a great video with gentle advice for supporting a child’s potty training process, including following the real-life adventures of one little girl.
This book is listed for ages 24 – 36 months on the cover and contains simple illustrated representation of the loveable Sesame Street characters. What I particularly appreciate about this book is that each character is at a different stage of development, one who goes all the time, one who has the occasional accident, and one who is just not interested at all yet. This may be very reassuring to children and parents alike!
The text invites children in by asking occasional questions and explains what each character is doing and why.
One page even mentions how a character calls her time in the bathroom “potty time”, which is a rather convenient link to the Potty Time program too!
To read our other book reviews, click HERE
Too Big for Diapers (a Sesame Street Babies publication)
In five quick page turns, this book follows Baby Ernie (shown as a stuffed doll) through the potty training process. It has very simple words describing what he is doing on each page, stressing the “stop and go!” concept in a similar way to Potty Time.
The photos of the dolls and props are large and bold, likely very engaging, especially to children who are training a little bit on the younger side, or who absolutely love Sesame Street.
A really nice companion to this book might be our Baby Hopkins plush who can be snuggled with as the story is read, and used to act out what Baby Ernie is doing in the book.
To read our other book reviews, click HERE!
We are reviewing some potty training books! Our entire collection of reviews will be housed HERE.
You Can Go to the Potty
By William Sears, M.D., Martha Sears, R.N., and Christie Watts Kelly
This book is from the Sears pediatrician team, particular favorites of those who like the attachment parenting method. It’s also one of the books I (Colleen) used with my own son! It actually starts out with tips for parents, and explains some of the choices in the book, as well as giving a few tips if you are experiencing any difficulty during the potty training process.
The story starts out talking about the baby days. In line with the attachment parenting approach, the illustrations show both nursing and co-sleeping, which some families will greatly appreciate and others may not as much. It then transitions into what big kids can do, and talks about where pee and poo-poo might go, first in a diaper and now into the toilet.
This book takes a specific approach to the timing of potty training, telling children they will switch to underwear when they can keep their diapers dry. Some families will do well with this timing, whereas others may find a different approach is going to work better for their child.
The book moves on to the process of potty training, including a supportive take on accidents and of course lots of great celebrating. A particularly nice aspect of this book is the little insets on some pages called “Answers for the Very Curious”. These boxes contain questions children might ask about going potty and simple answers that they can understand – very helpful!
As this is geared towards little ones but is very factual, it would make a nice companion to a more playful approach, such as our book “Hopkins Uses the Potty”
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be taking a look at some of the MANY potty training books on the market. Here’s the first one!
Diapers Are Not Forever
By Elizabeth Verdick
A very simple prose, along with the inviting illustrations, will draw children into this book that explains how diapers are not forever. It starts with showing how the children are growing and now they can do what the big kids do – go potty! It then takes the reader through the steps of going potty, with noted differences for boys and girls, and stresses the celebration a child can have with his family. As a bonus, there are tips for parents at the end.
Parents who prefer not to reward with tangible items will appreciate the idea that the family will celebrate with a “clap and cheer”. This book fits great with the Potty Time philosophy and songs, especially the “Potty Dance” and “Let’s Celebrate” (Click on the songs to hear a sample!)
These songs are included on the Potty Time DVD + Music CD.
To read our other book reviews, click HERE
In the next few posts, we’ll offer you some quick tips to get different members of your family involved with the potty training process.
Let’s start with Daddy. Dads are great. They have a special way with their kids and a different roll than mom. But, the truth is, sometimes dads can be a little reluctant or unsure when it comes to potty training. Here are three quick tips to get them in on the action. Continue reading
We’ve had a fair amount of discussion on Facebook about children refusing to poop on the potty. It is a common challenge many parents face during the potty training days.
Check out this gentle advice from Dr. Rene Hackney. What do you think of it? What other methods have you tried for the child having trouble with going #2?
LeeAnn the Marketing Assistant for Signing Time, which includes a roll as Signing Time Academy Administrator. She has been a fan since 2002 when her oldest received Signing Time on VHS for her first Birthday. In July of 2003, she became the first Signing Time Distributor and started volunteering for Two Little Hands Productions where ever she could. In June of 2005 she was offer a temporary position helping with a special project and her responsibilities have grown and changed based on the needs of the company.
Here LeeAnn shares her own potty training story!
While working in a childcare center before I was even married, I worked with the 2 year old class which meant potty training. At our center the policy was to assist the parents with which ever method they chose. Some preferred to use Pull-Ups® or Easy-Ups®, some preferred us to leave their children in diapers and take them to the potty every half hour, and others preferred bringing several changes of clothes letting their children tell us when they needed to use the restroom. We accommodated all of these approaches. At the time, I was confident that I knew how to potty train. I also believed I knew exactly how I would potty train my own children when the time came. Boy was I wrong! Here’s what I learned from potty training each of my three children: Continue reading
Here’s an interesting blog post on how one working mom went about starting to potty train her little girl: From The Potty Training Trenches
She has some interesting thoughts at the end about a challenge of potty training when your child is at daycare:
“I’m worried that with nobody paying as close attention to her body language as we do at home, they will not know when she needs to go, and that Abby will forget about holding it or talking about going potty. They know we have begun potty training and when they are changing diapers and such they do have her sit on the potty, but she has yet to have any type of successes with them. I’m thinking we need to just ask them this week to talk to her throughout the day about the potty and encouraging her more than just once an hour.”
How have you approached potty training with other people who watch your child?